My Gift is My Curse: The Fifth Marauder
by cinderemma
Summary: There's a new girl at Hogwarts but there's something strange about her and Sirius is determined to find out what. What is she hiding? Why does she keep warning him to stay away? As she starts to become one of the group it looks like he's about to find out
1. the new girl

My Gift is My Curse:

The Fifth Marauder

Sirius looked at the sign on the Gryffindor notice board and grinned. It read:

**Valentine's Dance**

**14th February**

**Main Hall**

**With Live Music and Festive Feast**

It was only the middle of January at the moment, which meant he had plenty of time to find a date. Not that finding someone would be a difficult. He glanced round the common room, catching the eyes of several of the prettier girls in there and smiling at them with that pearly grin of his which lit up his dark eyes. Each of them grinned and blushed, breaking off eye contact quickly.

No, getting a date wasn't difficult at all, in fact, that was the problem; it was just too easy. What ever happened to the chase? No date he ever went on seemed worth while. James couldn't understand, he was too obsessed with that bloody Evans girl in Ravenclaw and just didn't understand the stresses of serial dating. Sirius grinned to himself and shrugged the feeling off. Ah well, he'd just have to continue having meaningless relationships with as many hot girls as possible. Life's a bitch.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of James who had just come back from Quidditch practice. Remus was off doing some prefect-y thing and god knows what Peter was up to. James looked around, saw Sirius and headed towards him. Many girls watched James's trail as he made his way across the common room. He was, of course, oblivious to all of them.

'Alright mate? How was practice?' asked Sirius

'Amazing,' replied James, 'Slytherin don't stand a chance. You should have seen me out there. I was beyond amazing.' Sirius resisted the urge to laugh. How typically like James to boast about his quidditch skills, not that it wasn't all true, but he did love to remind everyone of it.

'So, been lost without me while I was gone?' queried James, with am oh-so familiar, mischievous look in his eye.

'Nah, not really - just been reading the board. But you obviously have something more interesting planned' James tapped his nose knowingly and turned towards the board.

'Alright! A dance!' he exclaimed. 'I wonder who Evans is going with.' How predictable, thought Sirius.

At that moment, McGonagall entered the common room, accompanied by a pretty girl with freckles, reddish brown hair and dazzling green eyes. Sirius wondered who she was; he had certainly never seen her around before. Everyone went silent and turned to face the Professor and the girl. The girl looked uncomfortable under the gaze of so many people but held her head high and gave a small smile. A girl with confidence, Sirius liked her already.

'This,' began McGonagall, indicating the girl 'Is Emma. She's joining us from a different school and has been placed in Gryffindor. She'll be joining the fifth year so I'd be grateful if you other fifth years, and everyone else of course, would make her feel at home here.' She turned around and muttered something to the girl, Emma, who smiled and nodded. McGonagall glanced quickly round the common room, her eyes resting suspiciously on James and Sirius for a while, before she turned around and left.

The room remained quiet for a while but then the usual noise broke out and a couple of girls from the fifth year, Sirius's own year, rushed over to Emma and began conversing with her. Sirius pulled his eyes away from her and turned to face James.

'So where do you think she came from?' he asked. James shrugged in a non-caring sort of way. Sirius turned to look at the new-comer again. There was something…different about her. She just seemed to stand out from the other people, but not in a bad way. He mentally shook himself and turned to face James again.

'So what's this plan of yours?' James's face cracked into a wide grin.

'Well, I was in down in Slughorn's dungeon when I just chanced across some potion,' Sirius laughed, he doubted James had 'chances across' anything. James gave a sly smile and pulled out a small bottle from his robes. It read:

_Quentin's QuickSand solution;_

_Give any surface the consistency of quicksand._

_Just add a few drops!!_

'Ok,' said Black, 'And what exactly were you planning on doing with this potion?'

James's grin broadened

'Well, you know the narrow staircase behind the tapestry? I was thinking we make it somewhat more interesting…' Sirius needed no more convincing.

'You grab the cloak, I'll meet you outside the common room.' And with that he left, unaware he was being watched curiously by someone with dazzling green eyes…

_Sorry it's a slow start. It'll get better. I promise._


	2. making acquaintaces

Emma hurried away from the Gryffindor girls who had been bombarding her with questions.

'What school did you go to?'

'How come you've changed schools all of a sudden?'

'Where do you come from?'

All these questions were perfectly normal questions but Emma didn't have answers for them.

That's why she pretended to need the toilet in order to get away. She had a story planned out; Dumbledore had helped her with that, but just one little mistake could give the whole game away. If people found out who she was…_what_ she was…she dreaded to think what would happen. It had taken so long to convince the ministry to let her attend school and she didn't want anything to get in the way.

Sooner or later the excitement would die down and people would forget about her, the way they always did, and she would just become as if part of the everyday scenery. There was no escaping the fact; it was part of who she was. But still, it was hard not to feel lonely, knowing you couldn't make friends or find love because it's part of your 'destiny' or 'fate'. God how she had come to hate those two words. She just wanted to live a normal life. But that was obviously too much to ask.

One thing that was disturbing her though, was the way that guy she had seen in the common room had looked at her. He was very attractive. Well, that was an understatement; he was gorgeous. He had almost black hair that fell into his deep eyes in a sexy sort of way. And his skin was so pale, but not in a gaunt way and his cheek bones…Emma stopped herself mid-thought. This was not they way she should be thinking. She must not develop feelings for people - ever. She had learnt from experience that it never worked out. Now _that _was an understatement. But still, she had felt his eyes boring into her, but more out of curiosity than hostility. Did he know? No, that was impossible; McGonagall and Dumbledore were the only ones who knew. She was just being paranoid; again.

The sound of giggling girls behind her motivated her to pick up some speed; she didn't want to face anyone right now. She glanced down the corridor she was in and noticed a hanging tapestry. She pushed it aside and wasn't surprised to find a narrow staircase behind it. She started to make her way down it but paused half way down. She could have sworn she had just heard voices at the bottom, but there was no-one down there, it must have been her imagination. She took another step down the stairs and was horrified when she sunk knee-deep into the step. She tried to pull her leg out but she wasn't getting anywhere. She could hear the giggling voices getting closer. She closed her eyes tightly.

'Oh please no!' she said to herself.

'Pssst!' a sound in her ear made her jump. She turned and was surprised to see that guy from the common room there. Well, his head was there anyway.

'Help me!' she pleaded. He looked around quickly then stepped forwards, his body materialising as if from nowhere. He placed an arm around her waist (her heart fluttered) and he pulled her out of the step.

'Quick, under here!' he whispered and threw something over her head. To her amazement another boy appeared in front of her, they were both crouching under a cloak of some sort along with the other guy. The second boy had jet black hair which stuck out all over the place, and his eyes were a hazel colour. He held a finger to his lips, indicating for her to be quiet. A few moments later, the group of annoying Gryffindor girls appeared at the top of the stairs.

'Emma? Are you down there?' Emma cringed, she'd been spotted. But to her amazement they just walked off.

'I could have sworn she came down here'

'There's something not right about her' their voices slowly died away.

Emma heaved a sigh of relief and the cloak was pulled from over her head.

'Thanks for doing that for me,' she said. 'I just couldn't face talking to them. What is that cloak anyway?'

'It's an invisibility cloak,' explained the boy with the scruffy hair.

The attractive boy held out his hand

'Sirius' he said simply. She shook his hand. The other boy also held out his hand.

'James' he said.

'We're really sorry about the step,' apologised Sirius. 'We didn't think people would sink so deep.'

'Well, we did pour half the bottle onto it,' laughed James.

'Dinner should be starting in 5 minutes, do you want us to show you the way?' asked Sirius.

'Please,' nodded Emma nervously. What could it hurt just making a few acquaintances? Besides, these two seem pretty nice. Just as long as they don't find out…


	3. Secrets all around

In the main hall Emma was amazed to see 4 huge, long tables full of students and piled up with food. James and Sirius led her to the Gryffindor table and they sat down between a small, plump boy with watery eyes who, to be perfectly honest, creeped Emma out a bit and another boy with a prefect badge pinned to his chest who was looking extremely ill.

'Alright lads?' asked James, as he helped himself to some beef casserole, 'This is Emma, she's the new kid. Emma, this is Remus and Peter.'

'Nice to meet you,' smiled Emma.

'New kid?' asked the one called Remus 'We haven't heard anything about a new kid.' Sirius looked confused.

'Wow, you'd expect something like that to be around the entire school by now; it usually is. I'm surprised the Slytherins haven't come along to have nose at you yet,' he said to Emma.

'I can't say a mind to be honest,' laughed Emma, 'I'd rather not be the centre of attention,' (this was actually a lie as attention had been the one thing she had craved her entire life)

'So err, where do you come from? I mean like, why are you here now?' stammered Peter. Oh no, not this question. Emma groaned inwardly. Just as long as she kept to the story Dumbledore and herself had come up with she would be fine. She took in a deep breath.

'Well, my mum's French you see, so I've been going to Beauxbatons for the last 4 years. But my dad got offered a job in the ministry in England so we moved here about month back and now here I am,' They seemed to be buying the story.

'So what lessons are you taking,' asked Remus. He looked very sick and pale, but in a way that Emma had seen in people before…

'She doesn't want to talk about lessons!' exclaimed James over a mouthful of potato. 'It's a Sunday for crying out loud. What a way to spoil the weekend Moony!'

'Moony?' asked Emma curiously. James looked away nervously,

'Just a nickname,' he muttered. Emma decided to let the subject go.

'Let me just look at my timetable,' she said, reaching into her pocket. Sirius and James both gave exasperated sighs. She handed it over to Remus.

'Let's see,' he said. 'Well, you have your main subjects with us. By that I mean Potions, Transfiguration, Charms...'

'Charms,' sighed James, in a dreamy voice. Emma looked at Sirius, confused.

'We have Charms with the Ravenclaws you see,' he explained, 'and err, there's a girl in Ravenclaw that James has somewhat of an obsession with,'

'I'm not obsessed!' exclaimed James, heatedly. Emma suppressed a laugh. Remus continued talking,

'And then you have Arithmancy with me and Care of Magical creatures with James and Sirius.'

'Awesome!' said Sirius, smiling at her. Emma smiled back, feeling for the first time in her life that she might actually make friends.

Later that evening Emma was in the common room. The girls who had tried to befriend her earlier had already practically forgotten her existence; in fact, no-one was really paying her much attention at all. And so it begins, she thought to herself with a sigh. She spotted the four guys in a corner having a deep discussion in low voices. Unfortunately for them, they were unaware of Emma's 'super' hearing and didn't realise that she could hear everything they were saying…

'Tonight is the night,' James was saying. 'We'll see if it goes well tonight and if it does,' he stopped here and looked at Remus who nodded in understanding.

'But, but what if it goes wrong?' asked Peter timidly.

'Oh, stop being so paranoid Pettigrew,' snapped Sirius. 'It'll be fine. Luckily me and James have enough intelligence between us to compensate for your lack of it,' Peter fell silent.

'So I think that tonight, we should all go our separate ways, you know just to get used to things and we can group up tomorrow.' James continued. The others nodded in agreement.

'Look you guys,' began Remus, 'I really appreciate what you're doing for me but if it goes wrong or if you get caught…'

'Stop being a wimp Lupin. Where's your sense of adventure? Besides, it's too late to back out now,' said Sirius

'Now, to bed!' exclaimed James, with a small wink.

More than slightly confused, Emma sat down on one of the sofas and began reading. Sleep was not something she was fond of. She only needed a couple of hours of it for starters, and it always brought the same nightmares anyway. She resigned herself to a long night.

It was late, very late. Emma was the only one left in the common room and she was bored out of her mind. She heard a sound from the boys' dorms and turned around. She was unsurprised to see that it was Remus. He on the other hand, was completely shocked to see her. He began to babble an explanation

'Oh, er, I've just had a message, about my mum, she's ill you see, I've got go see her-'

'Remus,' Emma cut him off. 'I know,' she stated simply. He blanched slightly and replied,

'Know? Know what?' Emma sighed.

'I know that you're a werewolf,' she said. 'And before you say anything, I just want to let you know that your secret is entirely safe with me and that I don't in any way judge you for it.' He stood there silently for a while, staring at her.

'How did you…' he began

'Let's just say I've had some experience with werewolves before.' She said. He looked at her curiously but didn't give any more explanation. They stood there in an awkward silence for a while until Remus finally broke it.

'I have to go,' he said hurriedly and turned to leave. He paused and turned back round. 'And thank you,' he said. Emma nodded and he left. She gave another sigh and stood up. Well she certainly wasn't achieving anything here so she thought she would go for a walk. Anything was better than going to sleep.


	4. The Forbidden Forest

Sirius stood there in shock. It had worked, it had actually worked. He stretched his new body, it felt so different. He could smell everything and hear everything right down to the sound of the rats creeping around in the pipes. And speaking of rats…Where Peter had been only moments ago there was now a small rat, squeaking away to itself. But that was nothing compared to what was where James had been only moments ago. A stag stood in his place, pawing nervously at the floor and it had absolutely huge antlers. It had actually worked.

Keen, to try out his new shape Sirius bounded off into the grounds of the castle. It was late enough so that he wouldn't bump into anybody. He couldn't believe how free he felt. He jumped around and pounced on small insects, he chased owls and dug holes in the ground just for the sake of it. He made his way to the Great Lake and peered into its surface to see a huge, black dog peering back at him. He wagged his tale in joy. Moony was going to be ecstatic when he found out.

A strong gust of wind brought a strange smell to his nose. It wasn't that of an animal, he would recognise it if it was and it certainly wasn't a person. It was something…_(impure)_…different, something…_(that didn't belong)_…he had never encountered before. Compelled by curiosity he followed the strange scent, he even resisted the urge to chase the bat that flew past his ear, just to find out what it was. But before he found the source of the strange scent, the wind suddenly dropped, making it impossible to trace. Disappointed, he finally stopped to take in his surroundings. He was by the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it looked much more daunting in the evening.

He made as if to leave but a sound caused him to prick his ears up. There was someone in the forest, only a few metres away, was that the source of the strange smell? Excitedly, he rushed towards the sound but stopped in surprise. Stood there, examining something on the ground was…Emma!? She had her hand in something silver and shiny and she looked very serious. He took a step forwards, stepping on a twig as he did so, causing her to snap her head round with disturbingly fast reflexes. She caught sight of him and sighed what was apparently a sigh of relief. 'You scared me,' she said out loud, the laughed nervously to herself. Cautiously, Sirius approached her and sat down next to where she was kneeling. She absent mindedly started scratching behind his ears, he could have sworn he was about to melt in pleasure. 'I wish I knew what was hurting these unicorns,' she said out loud again, apparently to herself. Sirius sat up rigid. That stuff was unicorn's blood? But he thought it was practically impossible to hurt a unicorn? Emma looked at him curiously. 'Why do I get the impression that you're not just a dog?' she asked quietly. But before she could say anything else a strange noise came from the distance. It was incredibly far away, but it was obviously a cry of pain and sorrow. Sirius stood up and looked towards the direction of the sound. Surprisingly, Emma did the same. Sirius could have bet his life that the sound was not one a human could ever hear. But he didn't have time to think about things as before he realised it, Emma was running deeper into the forest, towards the sound. She was fast, almost unnaturally so. Sirius ran behind her struggling to keep up.

A few minutes later they arrived at a clearing. There in the centre of it lay a unicorn, dying, but not dead yet. It was beautiful. The moonlight was reflecting off its body and it looked so graceful. Emma rushed over to it. She started doing something strange, she was drawing symbols in the dirt and muttering under her breath, she looked around and spotted what seemed to be an ordinary bush but she took some of the leaves from it and tore them up, scattering them on and around the unicorn. That was strange enough but Sirius almost fainted from shock when he saw the unicorn begin to stir and attempt to stand up. Only moments ago it had been on the brink of death. It finally stood up and turned to face Emma, who held out her hand and began to stroke it. That couldn't have been right. Unicorns don't let people stroke them. But this one was obviously different.

Suddenly, Emma went rigid. She stood up tall and said in a clear, loud voice

'Alright, show yourself' Sirius was confused, was she talking to him? But it soon became obvious that she wasn't as to his disbelief a herd of centaurs emerged from the trees and stood in a circle around the clearing. One of them stepped forwards and began to speak.


	5. centaurs and heartbreak

'You have forgotten who you are little one, and so you bring a stranger to our forests,' the Centaur said in a deep voice.

'And what's that supposed to mean?' replied Emma in a cool voice.

'The consequences of your actions run deep into the lives of men and creatures alike. Do you forget your destiny?'

'Maybe I make my own destiny,' answered Emma, sounding angry. To Sirius's surprise, and obviously Emma's too, the Centaur started laughing.

'You have much courage for one so young, but that does not change the facts. The stars and planets are aligning themselves. Your choice will be soon.'

'I read the skies just as well as you do,' was the reply. Sirius thought this a bit arrogant of Emma as centaurs are renowned for their ability to read into the future through astrology.

'Maybe so, but sometimes it is part of human nature to remain oblivious to that which is so clearly in front of them,' Emma stood there silently for a while, arms folded.

'What did you mean when you said that I brought a stranger to the forests?' she finally asked.

'That unicorn did not hurt itself,' was the cryptic reply, as the centaur indicated the unicorn standing loyally beside Emma.

'Well obviously,' said Emma, 'but what has that got to do with me?'

'Your friends at Hogwarts jeopardise plans that were put in place many years ago. You would do well to disassociate themselves with them before you bring harm upon them,' Sirius wasn't making any sense of this but Emma appeared worried. Without another word, the centaurs turned and left. Emma stood there in silence for a while, staring at the ground, one hand placed upon the unicorn.

'Alright Sirius, you can come out now,' Nothing could have prepared Sirius for this, how did she know he was there? Shocked into action he obligingly stepped forwards and resumed his human form.

'But...but… how did you…' Emma looked up and met his eyes with hers. He felt a jolt run through his body as she did so, and felt himself blushing. Those beautiful eyes seemed to bore so deep into him.

'We should get back to the castle, it's not safe out here,' was all she said. Sirius stood there, unsure of what to say as Emma jumped onto the back of the unicorn and indicated that he should do the same.

'The unicorn has agreed to carry us to the edge of the forest,' again, Sirius couldn't help but feel confused. Agreed? How could a unicorn agree? But he had no time to voice any of these questions as he was hauled onto the unicorn and sat behind her.

'Hold on tight,' she said. Shaking and heart beating fast, Sirius wrapped his arms around her waste as they were hurtled through the forest by the elegant creature.

They finally reached the edge of the forest and dismounted, the unicorn rode off into the depths of the forest. The walk back to the castle and up to the common room was an awkward one of complete silence. When they reached the common room Emma waked to the corner, staring at the floor. Sirius walked over to her.

'Erm, are you all right?' he asked, feeling stupid. To his dismay, when she turned round she was in tears, he had never seen her looking so vulnerable. Unsure of what to do, he walked forwards and hugged her, causing his heartbeat to start racing again.

'I know you probably have a lot of questions right now,' she sobbed 'but I can't answer them, I'm sorry'. Sirius didn't trust himself to speak so just stood there holding her. Eventually, she broke away from him and turned to leave, he caught her arm.

'Emma,' she looked at him curiously. He couldn't believe he was about to do this. He took in a deep breath 'Will you go to the valentine's ball with me?' there, he had said it, now for the rejection…She took both his hands in hers and looked deep into his eyes, once again sending shivers down his spine. She looked down at the floor. 'I wished I could,' she whispered softly. Sirius's heart sank. Of course, he had been stupid to think she would go with him. 'It's not because I don't like you,' she continued, 'It's because I do,' Sirius didn't understand. 'That centaur was right you know; I'm dangerous. You'd all be better off if you just stay away from me.' He went to pull her closer but she drew back. 'I'm sorry,' she said softly and ran off in tears.

Mentally, emotionally, and physically drained, Sirius made his way to bed, hoping this numb feeling inside of him would lift by the morning. What was it that Emma was hiding? He refused to take this lying down. Despite what she said, he was going to be there for her as much as possible and he was damn sure going to find out what her big secret was. And with that, he drifted into a deep sleep.


	6. what happened in the astronomy tower

Emma woke up the next morning, from a far-from-peaceful sleep. She'd had the nightmare again. Well, it wasn't a nightmare as such, more of a memory. Flashing images of fire, pain and torture ran through her mind, the occasional face swimming into view; _his face. _Emma yawned and got up. It was her first proper day of lessons today, her plan was to just keep her head down and get on with her work. She didn't need Sirius or anyone else. She felt a slight pang of regret when she thought of Sirius, but she had to do what was right and he was in danger all the while he stuck with her.

She got dressed and headed down to breakfast. No-one spoke to her or acknowledged her as she made her way down to the hall. Even Peeves left her out of his morning pranks. When she reached the hall she looked around for a space at the Gryffindor table, unable to find one. She realised in horror that the only one free was between Sirius and James, they had spotted her and were looking at her expectantly. They had obviously planned this. She made her way over to the table and sat down quietly, helping her self to some croissants. But as she leant across for the butter James caught her wrist. She turned to face him.

'Sirius told us what happened last night,' Emma couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. 'So you have some big secret, we don't really care to be honest. We're not going to question you or demand answers but if you think that we're just gonna abandon you then you're wrong. We live for danger, so don't try and pull that excuse on us. We're your friends Emma, you can trust us.' Emma finally lifted her chin up to meet his gaze.

'Thank you,' she said hoarsely.

'Psh, danger,' snorted Sirius, 'Danger's my middle name,'

'Really?' retorted Emma 'I was under the impression that your middle name was 'Illegal Animagus,'' James, Sirius and Peter all choked on whatever they were eating. Emma gave a small smile and returned to her breakfast, feeling that maybe her life wasn't such a waste after all. But she still couldn't bring herself to look at Sirius.

'Hey, look at this,' said Peter suddenly, indicating his edition of the Daily Prophet. 'Apparantly, this Lord Whats-his-face his trying to gather an army to take down the ministry. And not just any army either, apparently it's all like giants and werewolves and there's even the possibility he has some harpies too,'

'Harpies?' sniggered Sirius, 'Oooh…scary,' he stopped laughing when he saw the look on Emma's face. 'Are you alright?' he asked. Emma felt herself pale and start shaking. Harpies? There was no doubt who they were for….She mentally shook herself and still feeling uneasy, she forced a smile and said ,

'Yeah sorry, spaced out for a bit there,' before continuing her breakfast. Things were definitely going to get worse.

It was double Charms and the class had been split into pairs. To James's envy, Emma had been paired with Lily Evans.

'Make sure you mention me!' he hissed before they got to practice on their cheering charms.

'So you hang around with James and his crew of buffoons right?' asked Lily casually. Emma laughed and glanced over at James who gave her a thumbs up sign.

'Yeah, that's me,' she said.

'Well I admire you for it,' continued Lily, pushing her elegant red hair out of her emerald eyes. 'There's not many who'd put up with such big-headedness,' Emma gave a weak smile,

'He's alright really, once you get over the arrogance. They're all really nice,' She gave a flick of her wand and Lily's face lit up in a broad smile,

'Oh my God, that's amazing,' she laughed.

'What?' asked Emma, confused.

'Getting that charm right on the first go, it's not an easy one. Have you done it before at your other school?' Emma frowned and shook her head.

'Beginners luck', she mumbled. But is soon became obvious that it wasn't just beginners luck. Realising how unusual her magic abilities were, Emma was forced to play down what she was really capable of in order to avoid any sort of suspicion.

At the end of the lesson James approached Emma.

'Well?' he asked. Emma looked at him blankly. He sighed, 'What did Evans say about me?'

'Er, well basically she thinks you're big-headed and she refers to you all as 'James and his crew of buffoons,'' she thought that the harsh reality of the truth would bring him to his sense. James, however, smiled.

'So she called me by my first name? Not like, Potter or anything like that?' Emma rolled her eyes and walked off.

Sirius was huddled into the corner of the common room with James's invisibility cloak over his head. He was trying to catch Emma to see if she went out on any more of her midnight walks but so far it had proved a pointless task although he had managed to scare the living daylights out of a house-elf. He was actually about to leave for bed until he realised someone was coming down the stairs of the girls' dorms. Sure enough, it was Emma. Eager to see where she was heading he followed closely as she made her way through the castle. Curiously, it appeared as though she was heading to the astronomy tower and sure enough that's exactly where they ended up.

Emma walked over to the huge window and looked up to the stars.

'Mars is bright tonight,' she mentioned to no-one in particular, apparently lost in her own thoughts. Unable to stay hidden for any longer, Sirius threw of the cloak, causing Emma to jump in shock as she saw him.

'What are you doing here?' she gasped.

'Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing,' replied Sirius. He walked over to the window where she was standing but she backed away from him.

'Look, Emma, I need to talk to you,' he began, 'I like you, a lot actually, and usually I wouldn't make such an issue of things if I thought that you didn't feel the same way too, but the fact is that I'm pretty sure you do and-'

'Get away from the window,' Emma cut him off, looking highly alert.

'The window? What? Why? What the hell-' but before he could finish a giant creature appeared at the window and grabbed Sirius from where he was standing. It was horrible. It was what appeared to be a giant bird but it had a woman's head which was cackling madly. Sirius screamed loudly as the bird/woman flew higher and higher and then – let go. The ground came rushing towards him and Sirius knew that these were his last moments. He closed his eyes tightly but before he knew what was happening a strong pair of hands had gripped him and were flying him back towards the castle. He was flown in through the astronomy window and as they landed, Sirius turned round to see who it was that had saved him.

It was Emma. But not just Emma. She had wings, huge ones attached to her shoulder blades, and of the purest white he had ever seen, and that was including the unicorn. She looked different as well; older, stronger, _powerful_. He gaped at her in amazement. He was vaguely aware of something warm running down his back from a source of pain at his shoulders but he was in to much shock to care.

'I think,' said Emma, 'That it's time I told you who I really am. Or rather _what _I am,' …..


	7. The secret

Unable to speak, Sirius just stood there staring at Emma. A voice came from somewhere in the castle, causing the pair of them to jump.

'We have to go, it's not safe here,' said Emma, grabbing Sirius and pulling him towards the door. They hurried through the castle, aware that the teachers had heard the commotion and were probably out looking for students not in their beds.

'But…you have wings…' stammered Sirius, still unsure of what to say.

'Yes, and I'll explain that later, but right now we need somewhere to hide and somewhere I can treat those gashes on your shoulders,' as if from nowhere a door appeared on the wall of the corridor they were in and without thinking, Emma hurried through it.

It was quite a small room with a small bed, a fire and a sofa. Lined on the walls on shelves was medical equipment of various sorts, in particular that to treat deep cuts and severe bleeding with. Emma hurried around looking for bandages and potions to treat Sirius with,

'You might as well stop that as I'm not going to let you near my wounds until you tell me what's going on' he said. Emma looked at him in disbelief but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was being serious. She sat down on the sofa and indicated that he should do the same. He did so obligingly.

'Well, you might as well make yourself comfortable as it's a long story,' he sat there, motionless. Emma took in a deep breath and began her story…

'I haven't always been like this you know. I'm actually muggle-born, I had quite a happy life until...well...I was 11. It was the last day of school and I was looking forward to the summer holidays and then coming here for school.

It was late afternoon, me and some friends had been in the park and I was just walking home. There was a loud crack and this guy in black robes and a mask appeared in front of me. I was petrified. Of course I realise now that he apparated but I knew nothing of the sort at the time. I was unsure of what to do, I tried running but he put the body-binder curse on me so I couldn't move and then he grabbed me, disapparating to somewhere strange and unfamiliar to me. It still bugs me to this day as to why it was me he kidnapped, but I suppose that's irrelevant now,' Emma stood up and began pacing the room. 'I remember being bound in a chair and then I met _him,' _she paused, staring at the ground, struggling to get her words out, 'Lord Voldemort', she finally whispered. Sirius opened his mouth as if to say something,

'No don't, I have to finish this story,' she said. 'Anyway, he spoke to me. He kept going on about some super weapon, something that was going to the win the war from him. I remember him laughing and commenting on what Dumbledore's reaction would be. He touched my face; that thought makes me shudder to this very day, and he told me that it was all thanks to me. I didn't understand. I remember crying and asking what he was going to do with me. He laughed when I asked that. He told me he was going to change me, make me different by using some ancient magic he had stumbled across. He explained that he had found a way to create the super-being, by using elements of different magical creatures and combining them into one. The hunger of a vampire, the temper of a werewolf, wings of an angel, insight of a centaur, grace of a unicorn, fire of the phoenix and all in the body of a human.' She stopped pacing and sat back down.

'I don't remember a lot after that, I remember being taken away and I remember a lot of fire and a lot of pain. There were needles, I remember that, and all sorts of other stuff but those memories are just flashes of what happened, I suppose my mind blocked out the rest.

My next clear memory is of when I was 13. He was laughing in joy, apparently the experiment had been a success and the world was finally ready for me. I felt a lot of hatred, anger, despair and fear. I was ready to go out and kill for Him.' By this time Emma was in tears, Sirius sat there awkwardly. He had never imagined such things… Emma continued, 'But before I was let loose upon innocent civilians, someone turned up; someone who saved my life. It was Dumbledore. I remember looking at him and feeling pure loathing, I wanted to tear him apart. He looked at me, straight into my eyes, causing me to stop in my tracks. He spoke to me in a way I hadn't been spoken to in years. It was with a voice of kindness and compassion. He told me he was sorry for what had happened to me and that he was going to make it right. My memory breaks up again here. There was a fight, I remember that but I don't know what else. The next thing I knew I was sat in Dumbledore's office and he was talking to me. He said something about how Lord Voldemort had misunderstood and underestimated the power of ancient magic and how it can't be created into good or evil. He explained that I had a choice ahead of me, not straight away but in a few years time. I would have to choose between using my magic for good and using my magic for evil and before that time came I would have to learn my abilities and limits and how to control them. That's why I don't look particularly different, I've learnt to control my external differences to make me look normal, I mean I don't look amazingly different anyway, but still. Anyway, as part of this choice I'm supposed to be uninfluenced by good or evil. That means I can't make friends, make enemies, or fall in love or anything like that because it might influence the way I think or something. Anyone or anything that gets in the way of that basically ends up getting hurt,' she indicated to Sirius's shoulders which were still bleeding and she began to clean the wounds, ignoring his winces of pain. She was beginning to work herself into a state. She looked so helpless but Sirius couldn't think of a way to comfort her without sounding patronising or completely stupid. Emma continued, her voice getting louder a she went on 'and that's why, (and I don't know if you've noticed this), everyone seems to have trouble remembering me. I fade from pictures, my writing fades and my name fades from history and people forget about me after time. It's such a lonely life. But now the time of the choice is getting nearer, you heard what the centaur said, and that's why it's so dangerous to be around me.' Emma stood up; she was yelling now and sobbing hysterically. 'Now do you understand? Do you understand why I can't go to that stupid dance with you? Do you finally understand how dangerous it is for you to be around me?' Sirius slowly stood up and turned to face her.

'Yes I understand,' he said softly, 'And to be honest, I don't care' and with that, he kissed her.

_The secret is finally out. I hope it wasn't a disappointment after all the build-up. Let me know what u think. )_


End file.
